WWE.com Brock Lesnar
The latest episode of Monday Night RAW is currently airing on the USA Network. Here’s what’s happened so far:
11:00 – Lesnar asks Angle if he has a problem with him, but before he can respond, Lesnar hits the F-5. Heyman thanks Brock for coming out, but Lesnar grabs him by the face and pushes him to the mat. The show ends with Lesnar leaving Heyman laying in the ring.
10:58 – After the break, Angle and Corbin come out to the ring. Heyman informs them that Angle that Lesnar still refuses to come out to the ring. Angle says his contract is terminated, but then Lesnar’s music hits and he walks out to the ring.
10:55 – Bayley & Banks win.
10:53 – Bayley and Banks take command early on, but the Riott Squad puts them to the test. Banks takes Logan her out with a Meteora before she’s able to break up the pin at the last second. Bayley gets tagged back in and they hit a combo backstabber for the pin.
The Riott Squad vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks
10:37 – The Revival wins. They earn a potential shot at the title.
10:33 – Hardy handles Dawson with ease before Wyatt gets tagged into the ring. Hardy tags back in and gets a two count. The Revival get the upper hand and they manage to turn the tables.
The Revival vs. Deleters of World
10:26 – Hardy and Wyatt call themselves the B-Team’s nightmares come to life. Then, the Revival’s music hits and they march down to the ring. They say that they deserve a shot at the title, and a fight looks as though its about to break out before Axel and Dallas exit. Hardy and Wyatt send The Revival out of the ring.
10:22 – Charly Caruso welcomes Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas to the ring for an interview. Dallas dubs their fans the B-Teammates and thanks them for their support. Tey also call Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt sore losers, before the lights go out and the duo appears in front of them.
10:17 – Backstage, Angle is shown telling Reigns he has to leave the building before Lesnar enters the ring.
10:15 – Rollins wins via disqualification. He manages to fight off Ziggler and escape the ring.
10:10 – Rollins and McIntyre give it their all. After McIntyre subjects Rollins to a brutal beating, the latter hit two suicide dives in a row and slams McIntyre into the exposed ring apron. Rollins then nails him with a superkick. Out of nowhere, McIntyre’s partner, Dolph Ziggler, enters the ring and attacks Rollins.
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
9:50 – Crews wins. He rolls Akam up for a surprising pin.
9:45 – Akam takes Crews down by the legs early on. He tosses Crews across the ring a few times, but Crews is able to recover with a few hard hits to the body. He then hits a standing moonsault for a quick two count. Akam tries to fight back, but Crews is able to roll him up.
Apollo Crews vs. Akam
9:34 – Mahal wins. He gets the victory by countout while Strowman marches back to the ring. Backstage, Angle gets a call from Stephanie McMahon. It appears to be about Lesnar.
9:30 – Mahal seems reluctant to engage Strowman, who knocks him down instantly. Kevin Owens appears, however, and grabs the Money in the Bank briefcase from Strowman. The Big Man chases after Owens, who tosses the case to Sunil Singh before running away.
Jinder Mahal vs. Braun Strowman
9:24 – We come back from the break to see Elias in the ring. He plugs his new album and his documentary airing on the WWE Network right after RAW. Elias mocks Miami for liking Pitbull and The Rock. Before he plays, however, Bobby Lashley interrupts him. Elias agrees to play a song with Lashley for one night only. Elias decides to ambush Lashley from behind.
9:12 – Backstage, Heyman is shown trying to convince Brock Lesnar to appear for the crowd. Lesnar orders him to go get a steak.
9:10 – Fox wins. Rousey chases after Bliss, who hit Natalya with a cheap shot during the match, but she decides to attack Fox instead, but Fox fights back and throws Rousey into the barricade.
9:00 – They quickly lock up and Natalya takes Fox down in a headlock. Fox recovers and traps Natalya with a northern lights suplex for a two count. She turns and taunts Rousey, who watches from outside the ring. Fox nails Natalya with a big boot and pins her.
Alicia Fox vs. Natalya
8:55 – Alexa Bliss is trying to be friendly to Alicia Fox backstage, but they don’t seem to hit it off. We cut back to the arena to see Ronda Rousey and Natalya entering the ring.
8:50 – We cut backstage to show RAW general manager Kurt Angle talking to Heyman. He says he’ll be fired if he can’t get his client to appear in front of the crowd.
8:45 – Corbin wins. He continues to attack Balor after the match is over, and slams his head against a barricade with his elbow.
8:40 – Corbin gets an early jump on Balor and puts him into submission. He levels Balor and lands a close two count. Balor is able to get back up, however, and counters with a powerbomb and a double stomp. He knocks Corbin out of the ring. Balor continues to attack, and sets up for the Coup de Grace, but Corbin recovers and hits the End of Days for the win.
Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
8:16 – Back from commercial break, and Lesnar and Heyman are arguing backstage. Lesnar throws Heyman’s phone against the wall before going back to reading the magazine in his hand. We cut back to the arena to show Constable Baron Corbin entering the ring.
8:08 – Reigns grabs the microphone and tries to get the crowd to cheer for him. He talks about how Lesnar never shows up and that he doesn’t respect the fans. Lesnar’s representative Paul Heyman comes out to defend him. Heyman says Lesnar is in the arena but that he won’t come out until he feels like it. Reigns insults both men before the segment ends.
8:04 – The episode opens with a pair of title cards that pay tribute to the late wrestlers Nikolai Volkoff and Brian Christopher. We then cut to a shot of Brock Lesnar backstage before Roman Reigns comes out to the ring.
Preview
The biggest story heading into tonight’s episode is the rivalry between Roman Reigns and Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. After being denied Lesnar’s title at WrestleMania and WWE Greatest Royal Rumble, Reigns has finally earned another opportunity to take him down at SummerSlam. Lesnar’s representative Paul Heyman has confirmed that the Champion will bring his his title to Cincinnati for RAW.
Recently, WrestleVotes reported there would change to one of the high profile bouts before SummerSlam: “Texting With A Source: don’t be surprised to see one of the SummerSlam match ups already confirmed changed,” they tweeted. “Don’t get your hopes up, it’s not Reigns & Lesnar. Hearing the IC title match may not end up being Rollins v Ziggler one on one.”
The other big news is that Ronda Rousey’s suspension comes to an end tonight, and she will be able to intimidate Alexa Bliss for the first time in weeks. Rousey and Bliss are scheduled to compete for the RAW Women’s Championship at SummerSlam, and its likely that Rousey will spend the time leading up to her title match scaring Bliss silly. Rousey featured in one of her best WWE segments yet when she powerbombed Bliss through a table last month. We can only assume that Bliss will gain some credibility before SummerSlam courtesy of her friend Mickie James.
Last week, Seth Rollins & Finn Bálor defeated Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre, which earned Rollins a rematch for the title at SummerSlam. That said, before he can compete for the title, he will have to take on McIntyre again tonight. It remains to be seen whether Rollins has what it takes to keep the momentum or McIntyre will be able to put a stop to his Championship plans.
Another story to look out for is the growing rivalry between Constable Baron Corbin and Finn Bálor. Corbin has made it no secret that he’s bitter about Balor beating him at WWE Extreme Rules, and he’s gone as far as to relocate Balor’s dressing room to a children’s playhouse to prove it. Balor took the insult in stride last week, and the frustration on Corbin’s face showed. Tonight, Corbin and Balor will get a rematch of that Extreme Rules match, and time will tell which wrestler will be the victor.
Given the relative lack of popularity surrounding Corbin and Balor’s feud, we can’t imagine WWE would stretch it all the way out to SummerSlam. The more likely scenario is that this feud wraps up quickly and sets up another, more popular one along the way.